Insider Selling: Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) CFO Sells $64,680.00 in Stock

Verona Pharma plc (NASDAQ:VRNA) CFO Mark W. Hahn sold 12,936 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.00, for a total transaction of $64,680.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 14,276,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $71,380,000. This trade represents a 0.09 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Verona Pharma Price Performance

Shares of VRNA stock traded down $0.52 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $39.11. The stock had a trading volume of 621,587 shares, compared to its average volume of 936,193. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $34.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $25.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.13 billion, a PE ratio of -20.37 and a beta of 0.46. Verona Pharma plc has a 12 month low of $11.39 and a 12 month high of $40.76. The company has a current ratio of 13.03, a quick ratio of 12.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93.

Verona Pharma (NASDAQ:VRNA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported ($0.56) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.44) by ($0.12). The business had revenue of $5.62 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.31 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.18) earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Verona Pharma plc will post -2.11 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verona Pharma

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRNA. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Verona Pharma by 25.4% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 2,610 shares of the company’s stock worth $75,000 after buying an additional 529 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Verona Pharma by 70.6% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,336 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 553 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC purchased a new stake in Verona Pharma in the second quarter worth about $29,000. EMC Capital Management purchased a new stake in Verona Pharma in the second quarter worth $38,000. Finally, China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Verona Pharma by 37.1% during the 3rd quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 21,041 shares of the company’s stock valued at $605,000 after acquiring an additional 5,691 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.88% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on VRNA shares. HC Wainwright raised their price target on shares of Verona Pharma from $36.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Verona Pharma from $50.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their target price on shares of Verona Pharma from $37.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Verona Pharma from $38.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verona Pharma presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $43.83.

Verona Pharma Company Profile

Verona Pharma plc, a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company, focuses on development and commercialization of therapies for the treatment of respiratory diseases with unmet medical needs. The company's product candidate is ensifentrine, an inhaled and dual inhibitor of the phosphodiesterase (PDE) 3 and PDE4 enzymes that acts as both a bronchodilator and an anti-inflammatory agent in a single compound, which is in Phase 3 clinical trials for the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma, and cystic fibrosis.